Thorley House of FlowersCharles Thorley opened his first flower shop in 1871 on West Street, and the shop later moved to West 14th, Broadway and 28th and several locations on 5th Avenue. We believe this picture is from their 5th and 46th location.

Cottage RowHouses with wooden porches, Seventh Avenue [12th/13th]

Travelers Aid Society, 238 East 48th Street, 1909. We like the team-building signs on the wall at left.

The police are called to Pell Street in Chinatown, 1899

George M. Cohan

Looking south down Fifth Avenue to the then-new St. Regis Hotel, around 1904

The Kings County Wheelmen, a Brooklyn bike club in 1889. The gentleman on the right appears to be checking his iPhone.

What was the world coming to? Women also bike—in Central Park, 1890s.

The first Madison Square Garden, in 1870.

Lafayette Place, north from Great Jones Street, around 1866. One of our favorite old New York photos because it captures a simple moment of street life in a tranquil part of town. Lafayette Place eventually became subsumed by Lafayette Street.

Gori's Marble Cutting, 895 Bway [19th/20th] around 1853

Jason Polan started Every Person in New York in March of 2008. He plans on working on the project until it is finished. Look for more at Jason's site and his book Every Person in New York.